In Japanese Patent No. 2538421, International Patent No. WO 01/055491 and International Patent No. WO 02/092895 are disclosed knitting methods for areas around a neck hole or the like. In Japanese Patent No. 2538421 and International Patent No. WO 01/055491 is disclosed moving the stitches surrounding a neck hole away from the neck hole while forming widening between the moved stitches and the neck hole. The widened stitches are left caught on needles, so that the width of the neck hole increases gradually on account of the widened stitches, while on the widened stitches can also be knitted a collar. In International Patent No. WO 02/092895 is addressed the issue of downward tension in a knit fabric caused by movement during a neck hole formation process. International Patent No. WO 02/092895 studies the problem arising when stitches around a neck hole are moved in the transversal direction (in this specification, the horizontal direction during knitting), as a result of which wales do not become perpendicular, while the downward stress does not act suitably on the stitches caught on the needles, thereby impairing knitting conditions. When in International Patent No. WO 02/092895 is knitted, for instance, a knitted part on the left side of a neck hole, the stitches corresponding to the neck hole or the right side of the neck hole are moved so as not to displace the knitted part on the left side.
As regards the slope of a neck hole or an armhole, the bottom of the neck hole or an armhole is taken as the horizontal (slope zero), while the upper portion of the neck hole or an armhole is made perpendicular. For slopes in between are used knitting methods in which the knitting width is reduced by three stitches every six stitch courses (slope two), or knitting methods with greater numbers of knitting width reduction (slope less than two). No methods are known, however, for knitting a neck hole or an armhole for slopes between a perpendicular slope and a slope of three stitches for every six stitch courses.